NBA Finals Game 4 Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Miami Heat

San Antonio Spurs made it 2-1 after a morale-boosting win they obtained against Miami Heat from the NBA finals Game 3. The first two quarters of the game were particularly rousing for coach Gregg Popovich’s players who were able to pull off a 25-point lead at one point in the battle. Heat retaliated to no avail and whittled only a few points to increase their score. Nevertheless, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade each scored 22 points to provide Heat a lining of hope. In the end, however, the scoring posted 111-92, in favor of Spurs.

“What it feels like is the finals,” said Heat coach Erik Spoelstra. “And you have to deal with all the emotions there are in the finals — frustration, anger, pain, elation, all of it, and it can swing back and forth. It’s a long series. We have to be able to manage this and it starts with tomorrow, owning it. That’ll be the process we all have to go through together.”

The game was riveting to a general sense, but there were a few moments of staggering thrill. Ray Allen hit a 3-pointer to make it 90-80 with 8:54 left, causing a call for timeout by the Spurs. The response was a 7-2 run, accentuated by a Leonard dunk and a Danny Green 3-pointer.

This year’s finals do seem to be 2013’s déjà vu: Spurs win Game 1, Heat dominates Game 2. On Game 3, Spurs regains the lead. This time, however, Miami does not have the luxury of potentially having a Game 7 at home.